Off to Jusenkyo We Go!
by Shizuki
Summary: A jewel shard in China? Inuyasha's dead? And Botan fell into one of the Jusenkyo springs! How are we gonna fix this mess! An InuYu Yu crossover, featuring the Jusenkyo springs from Ranma! Please Read and review!
1. The Jusenkyo jewel shard

A/N: This is just a crazy little idea me and my friend Emily came up with one afternoon that sent us into fits of giggles so we thought we'd post it for other people to enjoy.

An explanation for the soon-to-be-confused:

             This story is kinda…no, very confusing. This is because it deals with the Inuyasha we are familiar with, who resides in Sengoku Jidai, AND his future self. Now as some of you may know, demons live for a veeeery long time, and so, my hypothesis is that half-demons also live unnaturally long lives, though not as extensive as those of full demons. So technically, there would be an Inuyasha living in the future, right? Is anyone getting this? Probably not…oh well, I guess what really matters is that I stop rambling and start the story, right?

Chapter 1: The Jusenkyo jewel shard.

Inuyasha wandered around the streets of Tokyo, not really minding where he was going. He was thinking about the same thing he always thought about…Kagome. Of course, he knew that she would someday return to her time, demons lived a lot longer that humans did, and if she had stayed in Sengoku Jidai she would have been long dead now. He had thought that once he was in this time zone, he would go and search for Kagome, but that would disrupt the stream of time. In the eyes of Sengoku Jidai, Kagome was dead. Although it was some consolation to know that in this time she was still alive, even though he couldn't go to see her. Besides, she was still hunting jewel shards with his past self, so, in a way, he was still with her.

He would soon be going on a trip to China; he had heard rumors of strange occurrences in the vicinity of the Jusenkyo Springs. He wasn't quite sure what was so special about the springs, but he had nothing else to do. For the past 500 years he had been scouting all of Japan for the last remaining jewel shard. Maybe, just maybe, it was in China. Oh well, it was worth a try.

Tokyo airport was busy as ever, and Inuyasha was sure to pull his hat down firmly over his ears, make sure his claws weren't tearing through his gloves, and check to see that his color contacts were in place before going through customs and boarding the airplane. He hated flying. The noise from the airplane always hurt his ears, and he couldn't stand the food.

"Well, it's better than swimming" he thought grimly as the plane took off. The landing was shaky and Inuyasha had hold onto his armrests to avoid colliding with the seat in front of him as the plane came to a sudden halt. Grumbling, the half demon picked up his hand luggage and shoved his way out of the airplane. Breathing a sigh of relief as fresh air filled his lungs, Inuyasha took out the map he had bought earlier that day which showed all of China's springs.

"Ah, here is! Jusenkyo springs!" he exclaimed excitedly, folding up the map again and heading off to a nearby car rental agency.

"I still wonder why Sesshomaru ever gave me a job at his company." Inuyasha pondered as he fiddled with the CD player of the dark blue BMW that he was now driving. He arrived at the springs late in the afternoon, tired and in need of a shower. The guide greeted him with his usual cheery "Welcome to Jusenkyo, very bad if you fall in springs!"

"Yeah, whatever." replied Inuyasha groggily, and followed the guide to the visitors center. Once he had taken a short, the half demon went out to explore in hopes of finding the last remaining piece of the Shikon jewel. He had just about given up hope when he saw one of the springs emitting some sort of aura that was different from that of the others, and a soft glow graced its surface. Then, a familiar pull towards a familiar power made him finally realize what it was. The last jewel shard was at the bottom of the spring!

The guide looked out the window of his hut just in time to see Inuyasha dive into one of the springs.

"AIYAAAA!!!!" he shouted, running outside to provide his usual explanation to whatever would emerge from the spring seconds later, but nothing did.

Inuyasha was confused, he had dived into the spring, he had seen the jewel shard, had picked it up even, then everything went blank. Now he was hovering above the spring, and he was at a total loss of what to do.

Botan was in the middle of eating lunch when Koenma called her.

"Botan, there is a dead soul you need to attend to."

"Oh! " said Botan, surprised that she could've missed it. She reached a hand into the sleeve of her kimono and pulled out her schedule, then frowned when she found that there was nobody marked down for today.

"Koenma sir…" she said in a confused tone. "I think you are mistaken."

"No, I'm afraid not, this case is much like Yusuke's, except we do have space available at this time."

"Right!" exclaimed Botan, as sudden understanding dawned on her face. "Where is the soul located?"

"Jusenkyo springs, China." replied Koenma, jumping off of his desk on to his oversized chair.

Botan conjured up her oar and headed for Jusenkyo.

Inuyasha was growing more irritated by the minute. It was obvious to him that he was dead. He didn't know how…but he was. Down below, the guide seemed to be torn between grief and excitement.

"Aiyaaa! Guest drown in spring! No one ever come anymore! But new spring created in own lifetime! I so lucky to have witnessed such event!"

Inuyasha cursed as he looked boredly down at the guide.

"What the hell is he babbling about?" thought the hanyou, annoyed at himself for drowning in a 4 foot deep spring. The irony of it all was just too much to bear.

Just then, he saw a blue haired girl materialize in front of him, causing him to let out a startled yell. Botan merely smiled and introduced herself.

"Hello there, my name's Botan, the pilot of the river Styx." she said in a sickly sweet voice that made Inuyasha gag.

"What the hell do you want bitch!" he yelled at her.

Botan was a little stunned, but she was used to this kind of reaction by now. Not many people enjoyed finding themselves floating above their body.

"I'm here to transport you to the spirit world." replied Botan cheerfully.

Inuyasha's eyes widened in realization, but he narrowed them and eyed to girl in front of him, who was smiling kindly.

"I ain't going nowhere!" he yelled, and flew towards her, knocking her off her oar and into the spring below. Botan sputtered as she lifted her head above the water, now in her mortal form. From above, Inuyasha smirked, then his eyed widened in horror.

The guide stood gawking at the edge of the spring, for once he was at a total loss for words.


	2. An unexpected change

A/N: Well, chapter 2 is finally up. Hey, guess where I'm writing this! My English class! We're supposed to be doing a critical reading assignment, but I don't feel like doing it right now. Besides, I have all weekend. Procrastinating is fun! ^_^

Chapter 2: An unexpected change

Botan looked at the speechless Jusenkyo guide in front of her and raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked, climbing out of the spring and wringing out the sleeves of her kimono. The guide considered for a moment, then ran back inside his hut, returning soon afterwards with a mirror and holding it up in front of Botan.

"KYAAAAAAA!!!!!" screamed Botan as she ogled at the mirror, willing the image to go away. She looked frantically up to where Inuyasha was still floating above the spring staring at Botan and gaping like a fish. As he slowly regained the ability to speak, he uttered

"Why the fucking hell do you look like me!"

"How the hell am I supposed to know?!" Botan growled back at him.

The guide looked confused. Why was this woman talking to thin air? Not wanting to get caught up in the heated argument (even if he couldn't see who Botan was yelling at) the guide slunk back inside his hut.

Inuyasha was furious. He was dead, and now he was floating over a cursed spring talking to Botan, who looked identical to him save the ponytail, the oar, and the pink kimono. Yes, it was official, he was living…well, not really…in hell.

Botan was tired of shouting at Inuyasha. It would accomplish nothing. She had to figure out a way to reverse this! Feeling tears welling up in her eyes and throwing Inuyasha one last look of hatred, she jumped onto her oar and flew off to spirit world, leaving Inuyasha behind.

"KOENMA!!!" roared Botan as she walked through his large TV screen. Koenma jumped at the unfamiliar voice calling his name, and practically fainted when he saw Botan.

"Wha- you- how?" he stuttered, trying to maintain consciousness. This was too weird.

Before him stood Botan, except she…HE…had long silver hair tied up in a high pony tail, amber eyes, DOG ears, claws….and was wearing her (his?) usual pink kimono.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT THE JUSENKYO CURSED SPRINGS!!!" screamed Botan at the top of his lungs, his face turning an interesting shade of maroon.

Koenma stuttered for a second, then bolted, returning moments later with some hot water. As he poured it over Botan, she returned to her normal self, but the scathing mask of anger remained unchanged.

"B-botan…" said Koenma meekly, shrinking under her severe gaze.  "I-I didn't think you would go for a swim."

Botan's hands were around the toddlers neck in mere seconds as she bellowed the story of what had happened at the springs. Koenma was quite blue in the face when she finally let go of him.

"I see." he said, still a bit flustered.

Botan had calmed down somewhat now, and wasn't seething with anger anymore.

"I think I know what to do." said Koenma, looking through some large stacks of paper on his desk. "Here we go!" he exclaimed triumphantly as he excavated the files of a certain Higurashi, Kagome. 

"How is that going to help?" asked Botan curiously as she eyed the large folder filled with important looking papers as Koenma handed her a map with some sloppily written directions on the back

"Ms. Higurashi may be the key to reversing your condition." stated Koenma matter-of-factly. "She has close ties with Inuyasha, and she has unfolded some of the mysteries of time travel."

"Time travel?!" exclaimed Botan, looking quite shocked at the idea.

"Yes, with her help, you should be able to fix this mess up in no time. Meanwhile, PLEASE stay away from cold water, and I'd suggest you wear clothes that wouldn't look so…strange when you …um…transform…"

Botan glowered at Koenma for a second, but then sighed and walked out of the toddler's office.

About an hour later, she was walking down the streets of Tokyo, now wearing a loose pair of jeans and a large red T-shirt with a black Nike logo in the front. Looking down at her map with a bemused expression, Botan scanned the directions to the Higurashi shrine once more.

"That's odd, it should be right here…" she thought, until she realized the problem. The map was upside down.

Botan let out an exasperated sigh and sat down heavily on a nearby bench. She turned the map around and read the directions again before continuing her search.

It was mid afternoon when Botan finally found the Higurashi shrine. Smiling to herself, she climbed up the many stairs and ran to the house, knocking on the front door excitedly. She frowned when no one answered. Feeling utterly defeated, Botan began making her way back to the road when suddenly she heard someone shouting.

"I wonder where that's coming from?" she thought, stopping in her tracks so she could listen. It sounded like a girl was laughing, and someone else, a boy, was shouting at her.

Just then, two people came running out of the well house. The first, a teenage girl with long black hair wearing a green white and red school uniform, was carrying several water balloons and sticking her tongue out at the boy while she ran. The boy, who was sopping wet, was shouting curses at her.

Botan blinked in confusion, then ran after them. Unfortunately, Kagome chose that time to throw a water balloon at Inuyasha, missed, and caught Botan right in the face. Kagome and Inuyasha stopped running when they heard someone yell. At first it sounded like a girl, and then it had suddenly changed to sound oddly like …Inuyasha.

The two of them turned around to see Botan looking shocked and startled, and, well, looking very much like Inuyasha.

A/N: Sorry for the wait. School got in the way.


	3. What the heck! part 1

Disclaimer: Somehow I always seem to be forgetting these. Oh well, I'm sure you all know that I don't own Inuyasha, Ranma ½, or Yu Yu Hakusho.

A/N: So very sorry for the long wait. My schoolwork has been getting in the way and I just don't have the time to work on this anymore. Rest assured that I will finish this fanfic. And this isn't just an empty promise that I'll finish it in the next 5 years. I intend to get it done before the end of the school year actually. However, for now, it is on hold. I don't know when I'll have time to post new chapters so you'll just have to live with what you get, when you get it. If you don't want to bother checking here for an update every few days, then review with your email address and I'll be happy to tell you when I manage to get a new chapter up.

Now, without further rambling, here is the next chapter.

Chapter 3: What the heck!?

Inuyasha and Kagome stared at Botan for a minute, then Kagome promptly fainted. Inuyasha ran to grab her before she fell, then turned his attention back to Botan.

"Who are you?!" he asked shakily, still ogling at person in front of him, who looked exactly like him, down to the furry white ears atop his head.

Botan glared at him then said sarcastically "I'm your evil twin." She couldn't help but burst out laughing as Inuyasha's face became a mask of horror. Kagome seemed to be recovering, but was still in a daze.

"Relax, I was just kidding." continued Botan impatiently. "Is there any hot water around here?"

Inuyasha nodded bluntly, not moving from his position, but Kagome seemed to snap back to reality quite quickly. "Right. Hot water." she mumbled and ran to her house, leaving Botan and Inuyasha facing each other, an awkward silence heavy in the air.

"So…" said Botan meekly, looking away from the hanyou's piercing glare. The conversation didn't get much further though, because just then Kagome returned with a kettle of hot water.

"Thanks." said Botan, pouring the water over herself and reverting back to normal. "Ah, that's better."

Kagome didn't faint this time, she ran away, as did Inuyasha.

Botan sighed, not having expected a better response to her sudden change of form, and walked over the Higurashi's house, knocking on the door. She might as well return their kettle and at least try to explain her situation to someone who wasn't in shock. Kagome's mom opened the door with a smile.

"Why hello miss, can I help you?"

"Yes actually" replied Botan, trying vainly to dry off her clothes. "I need to talk to you for a minute, and by the way, here is your kettle."

Mrs. Higurashi looked quite confused, but took the kettle and invited Botan inside.

"Shall I make tea?" she asked, gesturing for Botan to sit down at the kitchen table.

"Oh, no, I'm fine thanks. I'm sure you know about your daughter's travels to the feudal era." Botan said, her conscious mind switching gears swiftly to business mode.

"Um…yes."

"And I trust you know of her traveling companion, Inuyasha."

"I do."

"Well, I've come to inform you that in the modern world he had died drowning in the Jusenkyo springs.'

Mrs. Higurashi's eyes widened in surprise, but she stayed quiet, eager to hear the rest of Botan's story.

"Well, the Jusenkyo springs are cursed. Whenever someone or something drowns in them, anyone who falls in afterwards, takes their form. And it just so happens that I fell into that spring."

Mrs. Higurashi frowned in confusion. "Then how come you don't look like him.

Botan sighed and walked to the kitchen sink, turned on the tap, and splashed herself with water.

"Oh…" was all Kagome's mom said as she saw Botan changing from her blue-haired self the exact image of Inuyasha.

"You see…" she continued. "Cold water turns me into Inuyasha, and hot water changes me back."

Now sopping wet again, she sat down looking miserable.

"Well, I'm sorry, but I don't know how to set this right." Mrs. Higurashi said sadly.

"Yeah..." Botan agreed, her eyes twinkling with excitement, "but I do."

A/N: You know, this is so short, that I'm gonna call this chapter 3, part one. So there you go. Chapter 3, part two will be up as soon as I have the time. Be sure to review or I might not find the time to update. Heh heh heh heh….


	4. What the heck! part 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Ranma ½, or Yu Yu Hakusho

A/N: Well, I don't have very much homework today so I decided to add the second part of chapter 3.

Chapter 3, part two

Kagome and Inuyasha had both run to the well house at the same time and, while both trying to get through the doorway, had somehow become stuck. Don't ask me how, they just did.

"This is all your fault!" yelled Kagome, trying to wriggle herself free without much success.

"I got here first bitch!" retorted Inuyasha, cracking his knuckles as he prepared to slash the well house to bits.

In a desperate attempt to keep him from going through with his stupid idea, Kagome flared up and shouted "SIT!" Unfortunately for her, she had forgotten that she was right next to Inuyasha, and shorter that him too.

*SMASH* "AH, FUCK!!!"

Kagome would've slapped Inuyasha for using such language, but she was in no position to, as Inuyasha had fallen on top of her and was unable to move until the subdueing spell wore off.

Botan (now back to her usual self) and Mrs. Higurashi didn't say much as they walked out to the well house. Botan's plan seemed to make sense….thought Mrs. Higurashi, but it was still a bit far fetched. The two women stopped dead when they saw Kagome and Inuyasha, or rather, an angry Inuyasha on top of a very annoyed Kagome.

Inuyasha turned beet red when he saw Mrs. Higurashi staring at him.

"What's going on here?"

Now Kagome, who had been too preoccupied with trying to get Inuyasha off of her, realized who had just arrived at the scene.

"Um…uh...nothing!" she said quickly, finally managing to get out from under Inuyasha, who was still resembling a tomato and muttering curses under his breath. Kagome looked nervously at her mother before explaining.

"Well, you see, Inuyasha just tripped and fell on top of me…"

Mrs. Higurashi raised an eyebrow but decided that Kagome and Inuyasha looked way too embarrassed to be lying.

"Right then, Botan, will you show me your plan now?"

It was only then that Kagome and Inuyasha even noticed Botan. Long over their initial shock of her transformation though, they seemed to be more interested in what she and Kagome's mom were up to. Botan walked over to the well, examining it before turning to face Kagome.

"You need Shikon shards to travel through, right?"

"Uh….yeah"

"Right. Would you mind terribly if I borrowed one quickly?"

Kagome was about to reach her hand down her shirt to fish out the little bottle of shards before Inuyasha grabbed the hand.

"No way in hell." he said roughly, glaring at Botan.

"SIT!"

*CRASH*

Dusting herself off, Kagome gave Botan a shard of the jewel.

"You're not going to the feudal era, are you?" she asked, looking worried.

"Don't worry about me." replied Botan, as she moved to jump into the well.

Botan gazed in awe as blue light surrounded her.

"So this is what it's like" she whispered to herself before landing lightly on the bottom of the well. From outside she could hear shouting. Climbing up the ladder cautiously, she peeked over the edge just in time to see Kagome and Inuyasha run for the well house, and get stuck in the doorway. Trying desperately to keep from laughing, she watched with interest as Kagome sat Inuyasha. She smiled. So that's what happened. Careful not to make her presence known to the two struggling teenagers, she jumped back into the well.

Kagome, Inuyasha, and Mrs. Higurashi were waiting.

Pulling herself from the well, Botan couldn't help grinning. "It worked!" she exclaimed excitedly to Kagome's mom, who looked pleased. Kagome and Inuyasha where quite confused now.

"Wait….how did you…I mean….only Inuyasha and I have ever managed to get through the well before. Even with the jewel shards, the others couldn't get through!" said Kagome, trying to think of why Botan had been able to get through.

Botan gestured for Kagome to be quiet, then began her explanation.

"Kagome."

"Yes?"

"What do you think about every time you travel through the well?"

"Um….well, I'm usually thinking about Inuyasha and the feudal era…"

"I see, and Inuyasha, what do you think about when you travel through?"

"Um…I think about getting Kagome back from her time so that we can gather more jewel shards."

"There you have it, the secret to getting through the well. All you have to do is think about a specific time."

"But then, how come Sango, Miroku, and Shippo couldn't get through?"

"I'm not sure, but it all depends on what you're thinking about."

Kagome thought for a second, then blurted out "but what about the first time I fell in?"

"A centipede dragged you through, right? That's another way to get to a certain place in time, if you have something with you from that time."

Before Botan could say anything else, Kagome practically ran for the well, her face showing pure glee as she jumped in."

"What was that all about?" said Inuyasha irritably.

Kagome landed softly on the bottom of the well and opened her eyes, suddenly cursing herself as she realized there was no ladder there yet. Gripping the stones, she climbed up slowly with much difficulty. As she neared the edge of the well, Kagome could hear voices from outside, happy voices. She smiled to herself and cautiously lifted up the wooden cover on the well.

Meanwhile, Botan was a bit worried; she hadn't warned Kagome of the danger of encountering one's past self.

Kagome gazed longingly at the scene before her from the entrance of the well house; she'd opened the door just enough to peek out and not get noticed. It was her old self, 5 years old, playing catch with her father….laughing….smiling….oh god how she missed him. A single tear ran down Kagome's cheek with the promise of many more. She quietly closed the door of the well house again and jumped back in the well. 5 year old Kagome caught the ball, but didn't throw it back. She was staring intently at the well house.

"Daddy" she said "I saw the well house door move."

And before her father could protest, she'd run in to investigate.

Kagome returned with a smile as she climbed out of the well again, but her eyes were red from crying.

"Oh my goodness, Kagome, where on earth did you go to?" asked her mother, concern apparent as she walked over to her daughter to comfort her.

"Oh….just….10 years back…"

Mrs. Higurashi looked oddly empty for a moment, then joined her daughters tears. Inuyasha and Botan took the opportunity to make themselves scarce.

A/N: I'm SO sorry for the wait. I'll try to get chapter 4 up sooner, but I can't promise anything.


	5. So what now?

A/N: Yes, I actually have a new chapter up. Imagine that! I hope you enjoy it, if anyone is still reading this…heh heh…

Chapter 4: So what now?

Inuyasha and Botan sat in Kagome's living room, waiting for her and her mother to join them.

Inuyasha didn't really want to talk to Botan but there was one question that had been eating away on his patience ever since she'd arrived.

"Hey Botan, would you mind explaining the whole you turning into me thing. It's kinda freaky."

Botan looked uncomfortable, but she told him the story of how she had gotten the curse.

Inuyasha looked quite shaken after she'd finished.

"I did WHAT??!!"

"You jumped into the spring and drowned, then you pushed me in."

Inuyasha did not know what to say. So this whole thing was his fault. Just great.

"I'm going outside to see what Kagome is doing."

Botan looked up at him questioningly.

"Do you really think that's wise?"

"I dunno, only one way to find out."

Botan sighed and leaned back against the couch, staring at the ceiling.

"No wonder she's always so mad at him," she thought to herself.

"Oi! Kagome! What's the hold up?"

Kagome looked up to see Inuyasha run up to her, hair billowing behind him.

"None of your business dog boy."

"Don't call me that!"

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry. Would you rather I call you Inuyasha? The thought never occurred to me."

Inuyasha looked a bit shocked.

"What was that for?"

"For interrupting." said Kagome sourly.

"Keh…whatever…"

Mrs. Higurashi watched curiously as the inevitable fight heated to a boil and Kagome smacked Inuyasha, then stormed off while Inuyasha seethed, his cheek sporting a handprint.

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT KAGOME!" he shouted after her.

5-year-old Kagome stared into the depths of the well, wondering what it was that she could have seen. She leaned forward a bit, but not satisfied with her view, climbed onto the edge of the well. Her dad's call startled her so, that she lost her footing and plunged into the well just as Mr. Higurashi opened the door to the well house. Kagome panicked and her mind went blank, except for a dark fear that gripped her heart.

"DAAAADDDDDYYYYYYY!"

"KAGOME!"

Kagome hit the bottom of the well hard on her left arm, and scraped the palm of her hand on a sharp rock. She immediately began crying, and didn't stop until her father had lowered himself into the well and scooped her up in his arms. He frowned as he looked at her bloodied hand.

"Oh dear Kagome, that's going to leave a scar."

            Kagome (15 years old) lay on her bed glaring at her hands absently. "Why'd he always have to be so rude" she thought angrily. Her sulking was cut short however, by a sharp pain in the palm of her left hand.

"OW! What the…?"

A thin scar had appeared on her hand, and quite suddenly, her head began to ache. Memories that she did not recall previously flashed before her eyes and made her dizzy.

"BOTAN! BOTAN!" Shouted Kagome, running down the stairs looking like she'd seen a ghost. Botan raised her eyebrows at the look of Kagome's face and got up to hear the story.

"What's the matter?"

Kagome stuck out her left hand and pointed to the scar. "Look at this!" 

"It's….a scar. So?"

"Well, it wasn't there 5 minutes ago!" shouted Kagome frantically.

Botan threw up her arms in exasperation. "You let your past self see you, didn't you!? And then she went and hurt herself!" she shouted, then, seeing the frightened look on Kagome's face, she calmed down a bit and said, "Well, at least it's only a scar. I wouldn't worry too much."

Kagome's cheeks reddened. "I'm sorry Botan, I didn't mean to cause trouble."

"That's ok Kagome, just don't let it happen again; which reminds me, we should get going."

Kagome's embarrassed expression changed to confusion "get…going? Where to?"

"You mean you've completely forgotten what I actually came here to do?"

"Um…."

Botan slumped back into her chair. "Never mind Kagome, let's just get this whole thing sorted out before it's too late."

Botan got up and started walking towards the well with Kagome in tow.


	6. The journey begins

A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews. It was really motivating to see that people still care about this story.

Chapter 5: The journey begins

"Why do I have to stay here?!"

"Because it's too dangerous for you to go, your future self might see you!"

Botan and Kagome where desperately trying to convince Inuyasha that it would be a bad idea for him to come along but so far he'd not given up for almost a half hour.

"I want to come with! What do you propose I do while you're gone? Sit here on my ass and rot?!"

"You could go the feudal era and keep the others company." Kagome suggested half heartedly, knowing it wouldn't work.

"And look after Shippo while Miroku hits on Sango? I'd rather not."

Kagome and Botan finally gave up arguing and it looked for a minute like Inuyasha would be coming with after all until…

"SIT!"

*WHAM*

Kagome and Botan turned their backs on the cursing hanyou and walked into the well house.

"So what do we do now?" asked Kagome.

Botan stared into the well with an odd expression on her face that Kagome couldn't make out, then turned to Kagome and said "Think really hard on something you were doing or thinking 2 weeks ago. Something that's somewhat significant."

"Why are we going back a whole 2 weeks Botan?" asked Kagome looking puzzled.

"I take it you've forgotten; we still have to get to China, and I certainly don't have enough money for a plane ticket, let alone 2 of them."

Kagome's eyes widened at the sudden realization. She hadn't even give a thought on how they were going to travel to China. She didn't have the money, and she doubted that her mother would lend her that much.

"What are we going to do then?" she asked.

"We're going to travel my way" she said with a wink, then added "until we get onto land that is; after that, we're on foot I'm afraid."

Wondering what Botan meant by "my way", Kagome decided that it would be best to bring with her giant backpack.

"Do you mind if I take this with? I think we might need it." She said, picking up the yellow backpack off of the well house floor.

"Well…ok."

They were about to jump when Kagome got pelted by a water balloon. She spun around to confront the aggressor.

"HEY! Who did that?!"

Inuyasha smirked at the two girls.

"Thought you could leave without me, did you?"

Kagome and Botan (especially Botan) nervously eyed the water balloons Inuyasha had salvaged from Kagome's earlier assault.

"I told you" Botan said slowly "that it's too risky for you to come along"

Nodding to Kagome, she ran to the well. Kagome followed, hastily thinking of something that happened 2 weeks ago.

"My math final! That's it!"

Concentrating hard, she jumped into the well, followed by Botan, and another water balloon.

*Splash*

"Shit"

"Inuyasha?"

"No, it's me."

"Oh…"

Kagome and Botan, who was now in Inuyasha form, climbed out of the well cautiously, looking around to make sure no one was watching.

"We need to get some hot water." said Botan, sounding very annoyed.

"Yes, but we can't risk running into me"

"That sounded really weird, Kagome"

"I know."

They made their way quietly off the grounds of the Higurashi shrine and headed down the street.

"Hey Kagome."

"Yeah?"

"Do you have enough money for a pretty long bus ride?"

"Yeah, I think we can manage that."

"Good, then let's go catch a bus."

A/N: The adventure begins! How long will it take for the girls to reach China? Will they fix this mess? What will Inuyasha do while they're gone? Only I, the author, knows all. MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Now, please review, it really means a lot to me. ^_^


	7. A very long bus ride

A/N: Yes, yes, I know I've been neglecting this fic, but I have my reasons! Finals are coming up, I have to practice my song for solo & ensemble, AND I have to study my Japanese (not to mention a whole bunch of homework….evil teachers). So, you get the idea. And please pLeAsE PLEASE review! 2 is all I ask. PLEASE. Without reviews, I really have no reason to write.

Chapter 6: A Very Long Bus Ride

Botan (Inuyasha form) and Kagome exchanged bored glances once more. They'd been on the bus for over 2 hours, and there was still quite a while to go. It was so crowded that they had to stand up, and Kagome's legs were beginning to go numb.

Kagome's stomach rumbled and she grimaced; she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. Botan was fine, but then, hanyous don't tire as easily as humans do.

The bus jerked and Kagome lost her balance, falling on top of another passenger. They both toppled to the floor of the bus, and Kagome hit her head one of the seats.

"Ooooowww" moaned Kagome as she sat up, holding her head. It was then that she realized she was sitting on something that was definitely not the floor. She looked meekly down and saw that she was currently on top of a very handsome boy.

Jumping up hurriedly, she began to apologize profusely.

"Oh! Excuse me! I'm so sorry!"

Botan couldn't help laughing a little as she saw Kagome getting all flustered, while the boy just smiled.

Deciding to cut off Kagome's string of apologies, the boy stood up, held out a hand to help Kagome, and introduced himself.

"Hello there, my name is Ataru, what's yours?"

"Ka-Kagome" replied Kagome, blushing and looking at her feet.

Ataru was about a head taller than Kagome. He had neat black hair, and sparkling gray eyes that seemed to look through you instead of at you.

Botan decided to intervene; since all Kagome was managing to do was blush and stutter.

"Hi Ataru, I'm Kagome's friend Bota-…um, Inuyasha."

Ataru turned around to greet Botan, raising an eyebrow at his hair and ears.

"Your ears look so real! Are you in a play or something?"

Botan turned a few shades paler and froze, realizing that her obviously nonhuman ears weren't covered.

"Are you ok? Inuyasha?"

Turning around again, he saw that Kagome was also turning quite pale. She opened her mouth to explain, but decided to just say "yes"

"Ah, I see." Said Ataru, wondering why the question had scared them that much. He was going to ask what the play was about, but didn't think it wise to pursue the subject.

An hour later, the three were chatting happily, the time was passing much quicker now that they had someone to converse with. Things were going fine until Ataru asked the one question they were hoping he wouldn't.

"So, what brings you two on this horribly long bus ride?"  
Kagome and Botan glanced at each other nervously.

Botan decided to speak up first. "We're going to China to…um…go sightseeing!"

Kagome nodded enthusiastically.

Ataru suddenly looked excited. "Hey! That's exactly what I'm doing as well! Why don't we go together?"

Kagome and Botan were speechless.

"W-well…" said Kagome "we're going to Jusenkyo springs and it's kind of dangerous there, I don't think you want to come with us…"

This didn't burst Ataru's bubble however, as he went on telling them how he'd always wanted to go there, and Kagome and Botan paled with every word.

Botan pulled Kagome to one side.

"Excuse us for a second please Ataru." He said quickly

Once they were a fair distance away, Botan looked at Kagome seriously, and just said "let's tell him"

"NO!" shouted Kagome, receiving strange looks from a few of the surrounding passengers.

"Think about it Kagome, he won't believe us anyway, and then we won't have to make up anything."

Kagome looked hesitant for a minute, but finally agreed and the two friends made their way back to where Ataru was standing.

They explained their situation to him, and it was obvious that he didn't believe them. He didn't say anything though, and tried to be polite, though he looked like he was about to fall over laughing.

"So you see…" Botan continued "it wouldn't be wise for you to come with."

Ataru thought for a minute. 'These people are crazy, but that girl's kinda cute and I don't think she's got a thing for her friend. Maybe I can coax them into taking me with…'

"I don't know Kagome, your mission seems awfully dangerous; don't you think it would be better if I came with to protect you?"

Kagome looked shocked, but suddenly thought of something. She held up Botan's clawed hand for Ataru to see.

"I think I've got all the protection I need Ataru, but thanks for the offer."

Ataru wasn't impressed. "He's got sharp nails. So what? How is that going to help?"

Botan fought down the urge to show Ataru just what his claws could do, but settled for an annoyed glare.

"Just let me come with!" Ataru pleaded "I promise I won't be a burden!"

The two finally gave in, though Botan wondered how she was going to explain her method of travel, not to mention that she didn't think three people could fit on her oar; and also…what about her curse?

They got off the bus a few hours later, and everyone was quite relieved to stretch their legs.

"Right, let's head for the airport!' said Ataru cheerfully.

"Um…Ataru…" said Botan meekly "we're not taking a plane."

"Oh…you're going by boat?"

"No…actually, we're going by…oar."

Ataru looked thoroughly confused. "Oar? What's that?"

A/N: Yay! Chapter 6 is up! You know, I didn't plan on adding another character until I wrote that Kagome tripped. I guess you could say Ataru was a complete fluke. He might make the fic more interesting though. I'll let you vote on it. Should we keep Ataru, or should I get rid of him? And remember, review review review!


	8. Across the sea

A/N: *sniffle* you guys are being mean….Only one review??? *sulks* Hmph…and you expect me to keep updating. Lucky for you I'm in a good mood today since finals are over. What do I have to do to make you review? Threaten to delete the fic? (If you don't watch out I just might.) Anyone who's reading this and not reviewing, SHAME ON YOU. There, now on to the chapter. *sulks in a corner and cries*

Chapter 7: Across the Sea

Botan and Kagome had managed to persuade Ataru to wait for them at a nearby park, as they went to go "shopping for supplies". In truth, they were in search of hot water, since Botan was getting sick of the curious stares he was receiving due to his ears. (A/N: I'm calling Botan a 'him' cause she's in Inuyasha form right now so technically she's a boy.)

They stopped outside of a small restaurant that didn't seem very busy. Only a few people were inside busy eating lunch.

"Let's ask them." said Botan, turning to look at Kagome.

Kagome looked a little hesitant. "Ok, but you have to stay outside. We really need to get you a hat or something."

Botan sighed, but nodded, and waited as Kagome walked into the restaurant.

"Excuse me sir…" said Kagome, smiling sweetly. "I'd really appreciate it if you'd give me some hot water. Not boiling, just hot."

"Of course dear." replied the store manager, a short old man with a long beard and friendly eyes. "I'd do anything for a pretty girl as nice as you."

Kagome blushed, and smiled again, though this time, a little nervously.

The old man chuckled and bustled off to go get the hot water. He returned shortly, and handed Kagome a small kettle.

"There you go sweetheart, please give back the kettle when you're done please."

Kagome nodded and bowed, thanking the old man.

Botan looked up from where he was leaning against the wall of a shop to see Kagome running up to him with a kettle in hand. Grinning, Botan took the kettle from Kagome and ran down a deserted alley to go 'change'.

When Botan came back, she was a bit damp but she was very happy to be herself again.

"Thank goodness" she said "I didn't think I could stand that body much longer. Does Inuyasha EVER brush his hair??"

Kagome shook her head, giggling at the thought of Inuyasha with a hairbrush, trying to untangle his endless mass of beautiful, silky hair…wait… where did that come from? It's not like she liked him or anything…

"Hello…? Earth to Kagome, earth to Kagome!"

Kagome snapped back to reality and saw a concerned and slightly amused Botan looking at her.

"Come on day dreamer, we don't have all day."

"Oh…right" said Kagome, following Botan.

Just then she remembered something.

"Botan, hold up a minute! I need to go take the kettle back to that restaurant."

"Ok" said Botan "I'll come in with you this time seeing as I'm in my normal form again."

The two girls walked back returned the kettle to the kindly old man (who was more than happy to be visited by not just one, but two pretty girls), then made their way back to the park where Ataru was still waiting. But not before stopping at a store or two to buy some supplies.

Ataru was quite surprised to see Botan. Kagome had told him about the curse but he hadn't believed her.

'Oh well' he thought, 'Kagome probably just dropped Inuyasha off somewhere and met up with this girl. In any case, I'm not complaining.'

"Hi Kagome! Where are the supplies?"

Kagome handed him the shopping bag. Inside was two flashlights and some spare batteries, a length of rope, matches, three canteens, and a few packs of Instant Ramen.

"Looks good" commented Ataru, sifting through the bag to see what they'd gotten.

"Right" said Botan "let's go."

It was a long walk to the beach, but Botan insisted that they leave from there so as not to be seen 'flying' over the city. She received strange (and somewhat concerned) looks from Kagome and Ataru for her use of words, but just told them to keep walking.

It was a pleasant day, and the waves seemed to call to them, but no one had their swim suits with, so the three just sat and watched the ocean for a while.

Botan was the one who spoke up first.

"Ok, guys, I need you to promise not to scream ok?"

Kagome and Ataru exchanged a nervous glance but nodded. Botan held her hand out to her side and an oar appeared out of nowhere in a split second.

They didn't scream, much to Botan's relief, but Ataru was having trouble keeping his jaw from dropping.

"Well?" questioned Botan "What are you waiting for? Hop on!"

The two, followed by Botan, climbed onto the oar (which was now hovering in midair) and Botan advised them to hold on tight.

"I don't want anyone falling into the ocean, so you'd better keep your heads on straight."

In the blink of an eye, they whizzed off toward the blue horizon.

Botan smiled. If all went well, she'd soon be cured of this annoying curse.

A/N: *is still crying in a corner* did you like it? Huh? HUH? If you did, then tell me! *sob* I feel so unloved…

If I gave you something would that make you review? I guess it's worth a shot…

Ok, the first three people who review this chapter will get some fanart that I drew of Inuyasha and one of Kagome and Shippo (don't worry, my drawing isn't that bad). AND the first person who reviews will get two Inuyasha wallpapers that I've made as well.


	9. A little misunderstanding

VERY IMPORTANT A/N: Well, I got the requested amount of reviews so I won't delete the fanfic. HOWEVER, it seems I'm gonna have to start being mean about updating if I'm gonna get any reviews. From now on, you won't get a new chapter unless I get AT LEAST 3 REVIEWS for the previous one. Also, if I post a new chapter and I don't get a single review within two weeks I WILL delete the fanfic. Got it? Good. *grumble*

Chapter 8: A Little Misunderstanding

Inuyasha was bored out of his mind. He'd jumped into the well several times, but he'd just ended up in the usual place.

"Damn it" he thought to himself as he lay sprawled out of the couch, watching the TV with obvious disinterest.

-- Just then, he jumped up and started shouting at you. Yes, you. "IF YOU DIDN'T READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE THEN YOU'D BETTER GO BACK AND READ IT!!!"--

Sota walked into the living room, carrying a bag of potato chips. Seeing Inuyasha, a grin spread over his face.

"Hey Inuyasha! Wanna play a video game with me?"

Inuyasha looked up at him boredly. He was about to say something rude when Kagome's voice popped into his head.

_"Don't you dare swear in front of my little brother or I'll sit you into oblivion!"_

Shuddering, he rethought his response.

"Sure kid. But what's a video game anyway?"

Inuyasha listened with rapt attention (A/N: The world is ending) as Sota explained what video games were, and emphasizing with great detail the "coolness" of his fighting games.

They were half way through a match of Dead or Alive 3 when a loud crash was heard from outside.

Inuyasha raced to the front door, only to find that it had been knocked off its hinges and had broken in two.

Growling, the furious hanyou put his nose to work and went in search of the offenders. He didn't search long, however, for they were looking for him too.

Inuyasha an back to the living room and came face to face with a fierce looking boy wearing jeans and a white T-shirt. Behind him stood a short man with spiky black hair, a taller teenager with red hair, who was wearing so much pink that Inuyasha found it hard to look at him, and an even taller, ugly boy wearing a blue suit.

Sota had taken refuge in the kitchen, his precious video game abandoned.

"Who the hell are you?!" shouted Inuyasha, outraged by their invasion of Kagome's home.

The boy wearing jeans spoke up first, but it was far from an introduction.

"Where the hell is Botan, demon?! What have you done to her?!"

Inuyasha stepped forward and snarled at the boy.

"I've done nothing to Botan! She and Kagome have gone off somewhere and they made me stay here! Now tell me; what's your name?!"

The boy calmed down a bit; at least enough to tell Inuyasha was his name was.

"My name is Yusuke Urameshi. I'm a spirit detective. And these are my friends; Hiei, Kurama, and Kuwabara." he said, gesturing to the three people behind him.

Kurama, the one wearing pink, decided to intervene.

"Tell us demon, where have Botan and your friend Kagome traveled to? We mean no harm, we just want to find Botan."

Inuyasha folded his arms and pouted. "They went to Jusenkyo to go fix something that went wrong."

"What went wrong?" asked Kuwabara, the blue-clad boy.

"None of your business!" snarled Inuyasha, still ashamed that the whole mess was entirely his fault.

"Well" said Hiei, the short, spiky haired man "if they've gone to Jusenkyo it would be best if we followed.

"There's one problem with that." replied Inuyasha "they've gone back in time."

"Wow…" whispered Kagome as the blanket of blue stretched out below the three travelers.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" sighed Botan, smiling as the ocean breeze whipped past them.

"I do wish I'd brought a sweater though" commented Kagome "It's quite chilly up here."

"Don't worry, we'll be there soon." said Botan, scanning the horizon.

Time passed slowly however, and Kagome and Ataru's game of "I spy" slowly died away, seeing as there wasn't much to spy besides sky and water.

Botan only started to get annoyed at the two when they began a game of "guess that song"

Glaring back momentarily, she shouted at the noisy pair.

"You're giving me a headache! Especially you Ataru! I don't know if anyone's told you this before, but you CAN'T SING!"

Botan was getting tired, and although the shore was now slightly visible if you squinted and looked very carefully, she had started to think she might fall asleep before they got there.

Kagome and Ataru noticed this, and tried very hard to be quiet for the rest of the journey. But sitting on an oar for a long time gets uncomfortable, and very, very boring.

Sota finally decided that it was safe enough to emerge from the kitchen, and quickly ran to hide behind Inuyasha.

Inuyasha flinched, but pretended not to notice.

"Anyway, there's no way we can get to them now. All we can do here is wait."

The trio of spirit detectives did not look pleased, but reasoned that Inuyasha was right.

"So…" said Yusuke, looking around at the living room "how about we have us some fun while the girls are gone?"

A/N: Grrrrrrr…Don't think that just cause I'm not deleting the story means you can stop reviewing. I KNOW people are reading this. I had better get some reviews…*sulks*


	10. Party Time

A/N: Sigh.... I'm too nice for my own good. I've decided to start posting again. But this time, I don't care about reviews. I am only posting my chapters because having them on ff.net makes them easier to access (I don't have to search through my huge list of documents). Anyway, that means that no matter how much people beg me to update sooner, make chapters longer, ect, I do not care. I will update when I feel like it. And I will make the chapters only as long as I see fit.  
  
Chapter 9: Party Time  
  
Akane stared curiously at the invitation she was holding.  
  
'Party at the Higurashi Shrine; 8:00pm till 2:00am; bring food.'  
  
"That's strange." commented Kasumi, looking over her shoulder. "Do you even know these people Akane?"  
  
Akane shook her head. "No...and why would they want to throw a party at a shrine?"  
  
"A party?!" Ranma questioned excitedly, running down the stairs and almost knocking Akane over as he grabbed the invitation.  
  
"Can I come Akane? Please? I've never been to a party before!"  
  
"Who said I was gonna go." said Akane, folding her arms in defiance.  
  
Kasumi looked at the two, then smiled sweetly and said "I think it'll be a good idea for you two to go. You might meet some new people!"  
  
"Fine, but we're not staying till 2 in the morning." muttered Akane.  
  
"Of course not." replied Ranma.  
  
"What are you doing?" asked Inuyasha as Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama sat writing invitations, the phone directory lying open in front of them.  
  
"They're sending a bunch of strangers invitations to the party they're throwing in someone else's house." said Hiei darkly from his perch on the kitchen counter.  
  
Yusuke looked up from his work, grinning ear to ear. "Loosen up buddy, we won't break anything. It's just some harmless fun!"  
  
"Yes, I don't think it will be too much trouble." said Kurama, scribbling someone's address on the invitation he'd just finished.  
  
"Feh" snorted Inuyasha "As long as it doesn't get me into trouble. I've been sat by Kagome enough to last me a lifetime."  
  
"Maybe if you didn't make her mad all the time she wouldn't have to" offered Sota, who abandoned his video game to jump onto the couch and catapult himself onto the Hanyou's shoulders.  
  
"Besides, I think it'll be fun! And since mom's gone to visit an old friend, she won't be back until tomorrow afternoon, so there's no chance she'll catch us!" he added, reaching for Inuyasha's ears.  
  
A loud growl stopped him, and he quickly jumped back onto the couch.  
  
"Touchdown!" exclaimed Kagome happily as she hopped off the oar and danced around on the sandy shore.  
  
Botan smiled at her antics, then joined her, laughing happily.  
  
Ataru had already passed out on the sand and was snoring lightly. Eventually the other two decided to take a nap as well.  
  
About two hours later, Botan woke up. She stared up at the bright blue sky momentarily before getting up and stretching.  
  
She gently shook the others awake. "Come on guys. We have to get going."  
  
Kagome yawned and opened one eye.  
  
"Five more minutes mom..." she mumbled, rolling over in the sand.  
  
Botan snickered and leaned over Kagome, a mischievous grin spreading over her face.  
  
"BOO!" she shouted in Kagome's ear.  
  
This turned out to be a bad idea, because Kagome screamed, sat up abruptly, and smacked a surprised Botan in the face.  
  
Blinking, Kagome rubbed her eyes, and slowly realized who she'd just hit.  
  
"Oops! Sorry Botan! You really shouldn't scare me like that."  
  
Botan just sat there, a little dazed from being hit so hard; Ataru's laughter ringing in her ears.  
  
Inuyasha bristled as another group of girls walked past him, chatting about school.  
  
"Hey Yusuke..." he said suspiciously "didn't you invite any guys to this party?"  
  
"No way! They'd totally wreck the place!"  
  
"Well, you'd better not try anything" cautioned Kurama "If you do, Keiko will be at your throat faster than you can say 'I can explain'"  
  
Kuwabara snickered.  
  
"Too bad Urameshi. I guess I get to have all the fun! I'm glad I'm not tied down to a girl." he taunted, making his way over to a group of girls who were laughing about something.  
  
Kuwabara must have said something funny to them, because they started laughing even harder and walked away.  
  
"See Kuwabara?" shouted Yusuke "that's why you're not tied down to a girl. You're a joke!"  
  
Just then, he heard someone calling him, and turned around to see a boy with black hair tied into a pigtail; a girl with short black hair tagging along behind him.  
  
"Thank goodness! For a minute there I thought there were only girls at this party!"  
  
"Well, that was the plan." said Yusuke, obviously annoyed. "Who are you?"  
  
"Ranma Saotome. Why would you only want girls at a party? They're so annoyi- "  
  
Ranma didn't get to finish his complaint, because just then, he was hit over the head with a mallet.  
  
"Sorry about him." said the short haired girl. "He really wanted to come along so I let him. My name's Akane"  
  
Yusuke stared at the unconscious boy at his feet, then at the smiling girl in front of him.  
  
"I think I'm gonna go get some punch. Bye!"  
  
"Well, what a strange boy." thought Akane as she wandered off, leaving Ranma to be trampled on. 


	11. Gone Missing

Chapter 10: Gone missing  
  
"Are we there yet?"  
  
"No."  
  
"How much longer?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"Where are we?"  
  
"You have the map; don't ask me."  
  
"I'm hungry."  
  
"WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP ALREADY????!!!"  
  
Ataru stopped in his tracks and stared wide-eyed at Botan, who was fuming after her outburst of long suppressed annoyance.  
  
"I was just asking-"  
  
"Well don't!"  
  
Kagome sighed. For the past 3 hours the two had done nothing but argue, and she'd given up on trying to stop them.  
  
Feeling a sharp pain building in the back of her head, she decided to speak up.  
  
"Do we have any pain killer? The two of you are giving me a headache."  
  
Botan looked like she would start yelling again for a moment, but slowly relaxed, and took a minute to focus her thoughts.  
  
"I'm sorry Kagome. Maybe we should stop and rest. Ataru, can I see the map please?"  
  
Ataru grumbled and handed her the map.  
  
"We're miles away from any kind of civilization, so I suggest we set up camp here. We might be able to cover some distance on my oar tomorrow, but we can't risk being spotted, so we'll have to travel through cities and villages on foot."  
  
Kagome and Ataru nodded in agreement.  
  
Ranma sat up groggily as he returned to consciousness. He was sitting on the floor, surrounded by a mass of staring girls. He felt a blush rising on his cheeks, and quickly scrambled to find his voice.  
  
"H-hey...! What are you staring at?!"  
  
The girls acted as though they hadn't heard him, and started to whisper among themselves.  
  
"He was passed out?"  
  
"Drunk, probably"  
  
"He's a cutie though"  
  
Ranma's head began to spin as comments buzzed around him and he wracked his brain for something to say.  
  
"Akane?"  
  
There was no answer, only the bustle of a sea of giggling girls.  
  
"Akane!"  
  
Ranma stood up and started to weave his was through the crowd of girls.  
  
"AKANE!"  
  
A few heads turned at the shout, but none of them was Akane's.  
  
Ranma spotted a large tree not too far from where he was standing.  
  
'Perfect!' he thought as he jumped onto one of the lower branches, scanning the mass of people below him.  
  
Ataru blinked and sat up, wondering what was the cause of his sudden return to consciousness. Looking around, he saw Botan sprawled out on the soft grass, snoring lightly. But...where was Kagome?  
  
It was still dark so Ataru had to squint to find the bag of supplies. After a few minutes, he managed to get a hold of one of the flashlights. Turning it on, he scoured the campsite, trying to find any sign of Kagome's whereabouts.  
  
There was nothing. He frowned, looking around once more. He was sure she'd gone to sleep right next to Botan...  
  
Wait a minute....  
  
He shined the flashlight near Botan.  
  
Yes... He was sure of it.  
  
There was blood on the ground.  
  
Ranma rejoiced when he saw Akane's face look up at the tree after shouting her name several times. He waved frantically and jumped out of the tree to the spot right beside her.  
  
"Hi Akane!"  
  
Akane sighed in exasperation.  
  
"Ranma! Why did you have to make such a scene to find me?! Can't you handle anything by yourself? Did you ever consider that maybe I want to spend some time AWAY from you?!"  
  
Ranma stared at her, unsure of what to say. He could feel his eyes stinging with tears. He'd felt so confused and alone without her and now she was saying she didn't want to be near him...  
  
"You're such an uncute tomboy! I'm going home!"  
  
He ran away from her, not caring how many people he practically bowled over in his haste to leave.  
  
He also didn't realize that he wasn't going in the right direction. 


	12. Panic

Chapter 11: Panic  
  
Ataru started to panic. How could this have happened?! Trying desperately to calm himself down, he shook Botan awake.  
  
"Whu....?" mumbled Botan as she felt herself being dragged out of a wonderful dream she'd been having. Something about dancing chipmunks and ice cream...  
  
"Botan!" shouted Ataru frantically "Kagome! She's been kidnapped!"  
  
It took a minute for the words to sink in, but slowly Botan's face began to slacken with fear.  
  
"Are you sure?" she asked shakily. "Maybe she just went to the bathroom or something."  
  
Ataru shook his head grimly and pointed to the splotches of blood on the ground.  
  
"Oh my god..." whispered Botan.  
  
'That stupid violent macho tomboy!' thought Ranma angrily as he kicked a pebble down the sidewalk.  
  
He was torn from his musings when he heard a muffled yell coming from inside of the abandoned warehouse he was walking past. Startled, he realized that he'd been walking in the wrong direction the whole time.  
  
"I'm turning into Ryoga...." he grumbled to himself sullenly.  
  
Another yell was emitted by the building and suddenly Ranma remembered why he'd noticed that he was lost.  
  
Curiosity getting the better of him, he decided to take a look inside.  
  
It was only 10:30, but the party was beginning to die down for the most part. Inuyasha was quite happy to see the crowd of chattering girls start to lessen. His ears had already endured enough torture for one day.  
  
Weaving his way through what remained of the party guests, he began to look for Yusuke and the others.  
  
He hadn't gotten that far before he accidentally bumped into a girl with short hair who looked pretty ticked off. Deciding not to stay for the fireworks, he quickly dashed off in a different direction.  
  
"Hey you!" he heard her shouting from behind him.  
  
'Damn...' he thought sourly. He really didn't feel like being yelled at by a particularly angry looking girl.  
  
Sighing, he slowly turned around to face her. "Look, I'm sorry..."  
  
Akane wasn't waiting for an apology though.  
  
"Have you seen a boy with black hair and a pigtail anywhere? His name is Ranma and-"  
  
Inuyasha held up a hand to cut off her flow of words. "Look girl, I haven't seen anyone like that around here, so lay off."  
  
That said, he ran off again leaving Akane even angrier than before.  
  
"Men!" she said bitterly. "They never grow up."  
  
She was beginning to worry about Ranma though. What if he got lost? He could take care of himself just fine, but what if he didn't know how to get back to Nerima? What if she never saw him again?  
  
Akane mentally scolded herself. She was just making a mountain out of a molehill. Ranma was fine. She had nothing to worry about. But...he'd looked so hurt when he left. What if...what if he just didn't come back because of her?  
  
Sighing, Akane decided that she should go home. Ranma would come back. She knew he would. But even that hopeful thought didn't wash away all of her doubts and worry.  
  
"What should we do?" asked Botan as she paced about the campsite.  
  
"I don't know! We can't just leave without her....can we?" replied Ataru, who was still staring at the blood on the ground in shock.  
  
"Well, we don't even know for a fact that she's been kidnapped! She might have been attacked by a wild animal or something." reasoned Botan, stopping for a minute to glance again at the bloodstained ground.  
  
"Then why are we ok? And why is all the food still here?"  
  
"I guess you have a point." said Botan quietly, looking up at Ataru sadly. "But...I'm afraid there's nothing we can do...We don't know where she is or who's taken her, and even if we did know, how would we get her back? We're in the middle of the forest."  
  
Ataru sighed. Botan was right. The odds of them finding Kagome were practically non-existent. But suddenly he got an idea.  
  
"Hey Botan." "Yeah?"  
  
"What about your curse? Couldn't you transform into that Hanyou and sniff out Kagome's trail?"  
  
Botan grimaced at the thought of having to turn into Inuyasha, but decided that Kagome was more important than her dignity.  
  
"Ok." she said, reaching for her canteen and splashing a bit of water on her face. It was enough to activate the curse, and she shivered as she felt the instantaneous flare of scents and sounds that hit her all at once. She blinked a few times, trying to get used to the fact that she could see in the dark.  
  
Botan only needed to take one whiff of the bloodied ground to pick up the trail.  
  
"This way!" she called to Ataru, running through the trees at an incredible speed.  
  
"W-wait!" cried Ataru "What about the supplies?!"  
  
But Botan was already out of sight.  
  
Ataru decided to stay at the campsite. It wasn't likely that he'd be much help anyway.  
  
Kagome groaned as she opened her eyes, trying to ignore the pounding in her head. From what she could tell, she was in an old abandoned warehouse. How she'd gotten there, she hadn't a clue. She didn't even remember going to sleep...  
  
She only became aware that she was tied up when she tried to move, and found out quite abruptly that she couldn't.  
  
Fear welling up inside her, she yelled out the first thing that came to her muddled, pain riddled mind.  
  
"Iu-aaha!"  
  
'Well that sounded weird. I must be gagged too then' thought Kagome grimly. She tried again, a little louder.  
  
"Ingu-whasha!"  
  
Yes, that sounded a little more understandable... Though she doubted he would hear her. Where was he anyway?  
  
In fact, Kagome couldn't remember anything about the past few days of her life. Her memory seemed to be clouded over and distorted with the stabs of pain that shot through her head every few minutes. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly to try and focus her thoughts, but it didn't help all that much. When she opened her eyes again, there was someone staring down at her with worried eyes.  
  
"Iu-aaha?" she asked weakly  
  
The person frowned and shook his head. "No...my name's Ranma. I'm gonna get you out of here, ok?"  
  
Kagome nodded and winced as another shock of pain surged up in the back of her head. Suddenly her vision blurred and she felt herself slip out of consciousness.  
  
Ranma sighed as he looked down at the now unconscious girl in front of him.  
  
"My life just gets weirder every day." he commented, bending down to untie her.  
  
A threatening voice stopped him before he even touched the ropes and Ranma spun around to see who was talking.  
  
A tall man with long silver hair, pointed ears, and a crescent moon on his forehead glared at Ranma from the doorway.  
  
"Leave now or die, little boy." 


	13. The Truth

A/N: Sigh... I'm so confused....So very confused... I don't know how to end this....How should I end it???? Oh well, I guess I'll just burn that bridge when I get to it. raging debate goes on in author's head-- happy ending or sad ending?!  
  
Chapter 12: The Truth  
  
Ataru sighed dismally as he stared up at the starry sky. No matter how long he lay there, he just couldn't fall asleep. Numbly lifting his arm again, he glanced at his watch.  
  
2:34am  
  
"I hope the girls are ok..." he whispered to himself.  
  
  
  
Botan paused for a minute, surveying her surroundings. Taking a whiff of the air, she cursed silently, realizing that Kagome's scent, which had been fading steadily, was no longer detectable.  
  
Sitting down heavily on the damp forest floor, Botan tried to come up with a plan. But try as she might, nothing came to mind. She hadn't a clue where Kagome was.  
  
'I might as well head back' she thought sadly, slowly getting up and trudging back through the forest, all her hope of finding Kagome was lost to the wind.  
  
"What's happened to you Kagome..." she whispered, feeling tears slide down her cheeks. She wiped them away with the back of her hand, grimacing as she looked down at the claws she was so unused to seeing.  
  
"This is all your fault you stupid Hanyou."  
  
  
  
Ranma stared dumbly at the man in front of him.  
  
"Wh-what are you?!"  
  
Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed.  
  
"Don't make me repeat myself boy." he said coldly, glaring daggers at Ranma.  
  
Ranma didn't even flinch. He was used to threats by now. But what exactly was this man? There was no way he could be human! Had he bound and gagged this girl? Well, whatever he was, nobody called him a little boy and lived. Without so much as a word of warning, he attacked.  
  
Sesshomaru wasted no time conjuring his poison whip and trying to melt Ranma with it, but the boy was annoyingly fast for a human and dodged it every time. Ranma was, however, beginning to realize that his fists alone were no match for the person in front of him. Maybe the Hiryu Shoten Ha would work, but he couldn't get the man to move, and he didn't seem to possess a battle aura...just a weird swirl of evil energy. Was he a demon? In any case, Ranma knew he had to do something quickly. Dodging the green glowing whip once more, Ranma vaulted off of the ceiling, pooling energy in the palms of his hands. Just as Sesshomaru drew back his arm to lash at Ranma again, the young martial artist launched his attack.  
  
"Mouku Takabisha!" yelled Ranma, releasing the enormous orb of ki from his hands. Sesshomaru, completely unprepared and not expecting such an attack from a human, didn't think to move out of the way. There was a loud crackling noise as the energy collided with the dog demon, and he was knocked through the wall of the small, dank room; out cold and bruised badly.  
  
Breathing heavily, Ranma landed lightly on the ground and walked over to the girl, quickly untying her. There was no telling how fast that demon would recover. Carefully scooping Kagome into his arms, Ranma leapt out of the window and headed for the Tendo dojo.  
  
  
  
Inuyasha was bored out of his mind. He'd had to leave the Higurashi shrine because Yusuke had decided to light up a cigarette and Inuyasha couldn't stand the stench. Now he was wandering aimlessly around Tokyo, without anything to do or anyone to talk to. It never crossed his mind that he might get lost, but soon he looked around and realized, with impending doom, that he hadn't a clue where he was. His attention was diverted from his current situation, however, when he noticed something darting across some faraway rooftops. For lack of anything more interesting to do, he followed.  
  
It wasn't long before he caught up with the object of his attentions, which turned out to be a teenage boy with black hair and a pigtail.  
  
'Just like the boy that short haired girl was looking for' thought Inuyasha, his curiosity flaring up even more. As he got closer, he saw that the boy was carrying someone. Someone who looked eerily similar to...Kagome?!  
  
  
  
Ranma almost fell off the rooftop he was running across when a silver- haired golden-eyed dog-eared person landed right in front of him with an odd mix of caution, anger, concern, and relief displayed on his face.  
  
"What the hell are you doing with Kagome?!" he yelled, pointing at the girl in Ranma's arms. Ranma blinked, unsure of what to do.  
  
"Um...I found her tied up in an old warehouse and rescued her from this evil demon who...looked a lot like you actually." said Ranma, frowning and tightening his grip on Kagome. For all he knew, this could be another demon in alliance with the one he'd fought in the warehouse. The demon's next words completely shattered that theory though.  
  
"Sesshomaru! I'll kill that bastard!" growled the annoyed hanyou, clenching his clawed fists threateningly.  
  
"So..." said Ranma, trying to decipher the situation "I take it you know this girl?"  
  
Inuyasha nodded and Ranma held her out to Inuyasha, who carefully took her from the pigtailed boy. Ranma turned to leave, but Inuyasha stopped him.  
  
"Hey!"  
  
Ranma turned around to face Inuyasha again, and was startled to see him almost smiling.  
  
"Thanks for saving her."  
  
Ranma grinned. "No problem." he replied quickly, jumping onto the next rooftop and continuing his way home.  
  
Inuyasha looked down at Kagome, frowning. How had Sesshomaru gotten to her? He thought she was supposed to be with Botan right now, trying to convince him not to jump in that spring.  
  
'Well' he reasoned 'I'm sure she'll explain everything when she wakes up.'  
  
Sighing, he looked up again and tried to figure out how to get back to the Higurashi shrine. Kagome needed to get home. He'd just have to...convince Yusuke to put out that disgusting cigarette. Smirking, he silently rejoiced as he spotted the Goshinboku tree in the distance.  
  
  
  
Ataru almost had a heart attack when his cell phone began ringing.  
  
"Hello?" he asked quietly, knowing exactly who it was.  
  
"What's your current situation?" asked Sesshomaru's voice over the line.  
  
"Higurashi's been kidnapped and Botan's out looking for her. What's the deal? I thought you were going to leave them to me?"  
  
Sesshomaru replied in his trademark apathetic voice. "Ataru, you're a very good actor and an excellent mole, but you're a sympathetic fool. I knew you wouldn't be able to hurt those girls even if you were ordered to. Your only mission now is to make sure Botan fails to stop Inuyasha. If you must, throw him in the spring yourself. You know what happens if you fail, right?"  
  
Ataru swallowed nervously. "Yes, Mr. Sesshomaru."  
  
"Good." said Sesshomaru, hanging up.  
  
Ataru turned off his phone and set it down just as Botan (Inuyasha form) walked back into the clearing.  
  
"I didn't find her." she confessed sullenly.  
  
"I'm sure she'll be fine" reassured Ataru, smiling up at her.  
  
Botan nodded slightly, sitting down to dig through Kagome's pack for a flask of hot water and trying desperately to act as if she hadn't heard his entire conversation with Sesshomaru.  
  
  
  
A/N: School is almost over. I can smell summer already and I'm itching to finish this so that I can begin working on other things again. The stress is finally gone and I'm back to my usual, carefree happy self. Unfortunately, I've decided to ditch "A Locked Soul"; my reasons being that I've turned it into an original story and also I've got many other projects that I consider more important at this time. Sorry folks, but I guess you'll never get to find out what happened to the village. Don't worry though, I've got other things planned. River of Sorrow is going strong and that fanfic is so much better than this it's not even funny. I reread Off to Jusenkyo We Go and I cringed throughout the whole thing. shudder I'm definitely rewriting this. 


	14. IMPORTANT AN

AN: Sorry for the unexpected hiatus, but I've been working on different things. Seeing as I've completely lost motivation for this fanfic, I've decided to rewrite it. Don't worry I'm not going to delete it. It took me too much time trying to figure out the stupidly complex plot I set up. (I'm so pathetic my own stories confuse me).

But I'm afraid it'll be a while before I start working on the rewrite because school's just started and now I'll have evil homework to deal with.

Also, I'm juggling 3 sites, an original story, and my other fanfic that's not going to be posted here until it's done.

So please please please have patience! I will finish it eventually.

If you want to read my original story which is way better than this, go here: www . freewebs. com /shizuki33/ index .htm

(take out the spaces)


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